Use of complex assessment of dermatoglyphic signs for prediction of the risk of development of occupational diseases

Dermatoglyphic investigations conducted by the authors made it possible to demonstrate a genetic predisposition to occupational diseases, in particular, to silicosis and silicotuberculosis. Methods based on the mathematical theory of pattern recognition were used for multifactor analysis of the data. It was shown that complex evaluation of 10 dermatoglyphic indices gave a reliable prognosis of the risk of the above two kinds of disease due to silica dust. The dermatoglyphic patterns which predict predisposition to simple silicosis or to silicotuberculosis were found to differ significantly.     

基于医疗服务绩效信息透明的质量促进效果研究综述

利用描述性综述的方法,总结近10年来医疗服务绩效信息透明对医疗质量促进效果,根据纳入排除标准检索Web of Knowledge、Pubmed等数据库,最终纳入31篇密切相关文献。结果表明,国外一般通过医疗报告卡或网站向公众公开医疗服务绩效信息,改善了医疗服务行为,但对病人选择服务提供者和临床结果的改善作用有限。我国应制定相关政策,推动医疗服务绩效信息向更广泛的使用者公开,引导病人利用医疗服务绩效信息选择医疗服务提供者。     

Principles of classification of life forms of plants

For classifying life forms of plants a proposal was made to use the principle of parallel divergence based on the hypothesis that life forms diverging to any degree preserve further the potential of evolving in a similar way, that is, in parallel series. Life forms of plants are divided into thirteen types corresponding to the nature of their basic metameres. Further, every type is divided into subtypes and sections according to the character of these metameres and then into smaller grades (classification units of the system of living forms corresponding to one trait and its evolutionary level) according to categories of traits: ramification, vegetative flexibility, rate of changes of metameres, types of habitat and environment. On the basis of the principle of parallel divergence scales of traits were constructed for each category. Corresponding to 26 paires of alternative traits 26 degrees of hierarchic classification were devised and within the limits of every type of life form there were 2(26) grades at the lowest rank. Separate systems were developed for single-celled and colonial forms.     

Shapes of curves of pH-dependence of reactions

A simple case is considered in which the rate of a two-step reaction depends on pH because the intermediate formed in the first step has to gain (or lose) a proton before it can react in the second step, and in which the rate-determining step therefore changes with pH. The curves of reaction rate against pH are shown to be symmetrical, and the sharpest peak possible has a width at half its height of 1.53pH units, i.e. of 2log(3+2 radical2). Any particular curve for this situation proves to be identical with a curve that could be generated for the pH-dependence of a single-step reaction in which the rate is proportional to the concentration of a particular ionic form of a reactant. Curves for the latter situation, however, can have forms impossible for the former case in which the rate-determining step changes, but only if the protonations that activate and deactivate the reactant are co-operative. The peak can then become even sharper, and its width at half its height can fall to 1.14pH units, i.e. to 2log(2+ radical3).     

Isolation of domains of the plasma membrane of hepatocytes

Several recent studies have demonstrated the ability of techniques based on immunoadsorption to selectively isolate specialized subregions of membranes, termed domains, which are derived from a larger more complex parent membrane like the plasma membrane. The immunoadsorbent is directed against a specific antigen that resides exclusively or predominantly in the membrane domain to be isolated. Thus, a monospecific antibody to the domain-specific antigen is required. In the present study we developed a method employing a modified immunoblotting strategy which could utilize polyspecific antibodies to isolate membrane vesicles derived from a specific membrane domain of the hepatocyte plasma membrane. We also used specific cell surface labeling of the hepatocyte plasma membrane by lactoperoxidase-catalyzed iodination at 4 degrees C and preparation of different sized vesicles by sonication to facilitate isolation of the specific domain. For this study, polyspecific antisera were raised in goats against a membrane fraction, denoted N2u, which is enriched in bile canalicular proteins. This antiserum recognizes, among other antigens, a 110,000 Mr polypeptide previously shown to be localized in the bile canaliculus (J. Cook et al. (1983) J. Cell. Biol. 97, 1823-1833). A monospecific antiserum was raised in rabbits against the rat hepatocyte asialoglycoprotein receptor, a sinusoidal domain-specific set of glycoproteins whose major form has a Mr of 43,000. These antisera were each coupled indirectly to different pieces of nitrocellulose by the immunoblotting protocol and were used to isolate membrane vesicles from a crude extract of liver plasma membrane prepared by sonication. The ratio of iodinated asialoglycoprotein receptor to the 110,000 Mr polypeptide in vesicles isolated by the affinity nitrocellulose immunoadsorbent method indicate a 10- to 15-fold enrichment of sinusoidal-derived vesicles relative to bile canalicular-derived membrane vesicles. These results show that the affinity nitrocellulose immunoadsorbent method can be used to isolate domain-specific vesicles. Further, the affinity immunoadsorbent method described here for the isolation of domains of the plasma membrane is an integrative one allowing isolation of vesicles present in relatively small concentration in crude cell extracts and it requires minimal ultracentrifugation time.     

Paradoxes of replication of RNA of a bacterial virus

The extraordinary ability of the bacteriophage Qβ replicase to amplify RNA outside the cell attracted the attention of molecular biologists in the late 1960s-early 1970s. However, at that time, a number of puzzling properties of the enzyme was not explained. Not until recently has Qβ replicase begun to reveal its secrets, promising to give a key not only to understanding the mechanism of replication of the bacterial virus genome but also to the solution of more general fundamental and applied problems.     

The role of neurons of the caudal ventrolateral region of the medulla oblongata of cats in the mechanism of realization of the cardio-hemodynamic reaction

Glycine injection to the identified area of the RVLM leads to the development of a characteristic depressor reaction, due to a decrease of the total peripheral vascular resistance (TRP). Glycine injection to the identified area of CVLM results in the developing pressor reaction also due to the changes of TRP. Glycine injection to CVLM under preliminary functional switch-off the RVLM neuronal activity is not accompanied by the development of pressor reaction. This can be an evidence that CVLM sympathoinhibitory neurones act on cardiohemodynamics by their interaction with RVLM sympathoexcitatory neurones. Turn off of the tonically active sympathoinhibitory CVLM neurones does not affect the character of the reactions depending on the inhibition or excitation of sympathoexcitatory RVLM neurones.     

Equilibrium of 5,6-hydration of NADH and mechanism of ATP-dependent dehydration

At equilibrium, water addition to the 5,6 double bond of NADH was observed to favor the hydrate by a factor of approximately 100. Hydration generates two epimers of NADHX (beta-6-hydroxy-1,4,5,6-tetrahydronicotinamide adenine dinucleotide). Only the 6S epimer of the hydrate was found to serve as a true substrate for an ATP-dependent dehydratase from yeast that regenerates NADH. Yet enzymatic conversion of both epimers of the hydrate to NADH was found to proceed essentially to completion in the presence of ATP and dehydratase. This is explained by the observed ability of the epimers to undergo rapid spontaneous equilibration, so that it is unnecessary to postulate a lack of stereospecificity in the dehydratase.     

Principles of covalent binding of reactive metabolites and examples of activation of bis-electrophiles by conjugation

Mechanisms of toxicity continue to be important in developing rational strategies to deal with chemicals present in the environment. Understanding and predicting toxicity have also become a critical step in the process of drug development. Covalent binding of chemicals to macromolecules is one aspect of toxicity, and the principles and outcomes of the process are considered. Two examples of chemicals for which several aspects of metabolism and reactions are understood are aflatoxin B(1) and polyhalogenated olefins. Ethylene dibromide is a compound that is activated to genotoxic half-mustards by conjugation with glutathione or the DNA repair protein O(6)-alkylguanine DNA alkyltransferase (AGT). The AGT reaction is unusual, in that crosslinking of the protein to DNA increases mutagenicity. One of the involved mechanisms is formation of N(7)-guanyl crosslinks and depurination to produce G-->T transversions; other reactions appear to yield the additional mutagenic events. The phenomenon of thiol conjugation to increase mutagenicity is widespread among bis-electrophiles.     

Study of protective role of the polysaccharide-containing components of capsules of Azospirillum brasilense

The involvement of the carbohydrate components of the Azospirillum brasilense Sp245 capsules in bacterial protection from the action of extreme factors was investigated. The survival of encapsulated and non-encapsulated azospirilla exposed to elevated (46-48 degrees C) and below-freezing (-20 and -70 degrees C) temperatures, extreme pH values (2 and 10), and to drying was studied. High-molecular-weight carbohydrate-containing complexes (lipopolysaccharide-protein complex and polysaccharide-lipid complex) were isolated from the capsular material of azospirilla. It was shown that the addition of these complexes to the suspension of decapsulated cells before exposing them to extreme factors enhanced their survival rates by 15 to 51%.     

Estimation of degree of separation of incompletely resolved similar Gaussian peaks

Methods are given for determining the degree of separation of a large number of overlapping multiple, similar Gaussian peaks in terms of their standard deviations. One approach is to relate the degree of separation to the ratio of the difference between the peak and valley heights to the height above the baseline. Another method relates the degree of separation to the ratio of the peak width to the valley width, and is independent of the location of the baseline. It is noted that when a large number of similar peaks is present there does not appear to be any definite minimum degree of separation necessary in order to obtain discernible resolution; separations less than two standard deviations produce visible, separate peak tops.     

Formulation of Statistical Equation of Motion of Blood

A general form of the statistical equation of motion of the blood is derived by averaging the motion of individual elements of the blood over a small volume in space. This equation can be transformed into an explicit form to find the constitutive equations of the blood provided the detailed motion of the plasma in some neighborhood of a suspended particle is known. As a demonstration of such transformation, the general form of the statistical equation of motion is applied to the suspension of sphere with a very low concentration to find the effective viscosity.     

Mode of action of nitrofurazone

When Escherichia coli strain B/r is exposed to 10 to 20 mug of nitrofurazone per ml, mutants with roughly threefold resistance are obtained. Treatment of these mutants with higher concentrations of nitrofurazone yields strains with six- to seven-fold resistance over strain B/r. Each of these steps toward nitrofurazone resistance is accompanied by loss of soluble nitrofurazone reductase activity. When sensitive bacteria are exposed to labeled nitrofurazone or labeled 2-nitrofuran, a considerable amount of radioactivity becomes bound to the cold trichloroacetic acid-insoluble fraction. Very little activity becomes bound in the mutants with six- to seven-fold resistance; mutants with intermediate resistance show intermediate levels of binding. Partially purified nitrofurazone reductase preparations catalyze the conversion of nitrofurazone to compounds which bind to protein and are not removed by prolonged dialysis against 8 m urea or by cold acid. Nitrofurazone reduced by xanthine oxidase or electrolytically reduced also yields compounds which react with protein to form stable derivatives.     

Effect of composition of cellular lipids of formation of nonspecific antibiotic resistance of alkanotrophic rhodocoocci

The antibiotic resistance and lipid composition of rhodococci grown in rich organic media with gaseous or liquid n-alkanes were studied. Hydrocarbon-grown rhodococci exhibited an increased resistance to a wide range of antibiotics (aminoglycosides, linkosamides, macrolides, beta-lactams, and aromatic compounds). The enhanced antibiotic resistance of rhodococci grown on n-alkanes correlated with an increased content of total cell lipids (up to 14-28%) and saturated straight-chain fatty acids (C16:0, C18:0, C21:0) and was accompanied by the appearance of cardiolipin and phosphatidylglycerol in cells. These lipid compounds were supposed to promote the formation of nonspecific antibiotic resistance in rhodococci by decreasing the permeability of their cell envelope to antibiotics.     

Analysis of the effect of backward masking by means of a complex model of a net of neuron-like elements

According to the experiments with a projective-associative model of the neuronal net, the phenomenon of “backward masking” of the first stimulus of a pair of stimuli at a small time gap between the stimuli is caused by two events: (1) pre-excitation inhibition of the first stimulus-induced activation by the second stimulus and (2) disturbance of information processing connected with the deficiency of time needed to match the recalled symbol in memory to the symbol presented to the input subsystem and also to name it. Identification of the second stimulus may be impaired with a decreasing time interval due to: (1) superposition of the second (2) recurrent inhibition occurring in the neuronal net upon recognition of the first stimulus. It was found that in conditions of activity of neuron-like elements of the neuronal net, simulating the states of somnolence or slow-wave sleep, corresponding subsystems failed to learn, while time needed to identify already “learned” symbols substantially increased. The data obtained are in agreement with the hypothesis concerning the causes of backward masking and also with the facts on optimal conditions of learning and reproducing its results in living nervous system. It seems reasonable that discussed disturbances of information processing should be kept in mind in designing computers of a new generation, based on the use of principles of brain functioning, in order to increase the reliability and operation speed of technical systems.     

Limitations of pH-potentiometric titration for the determination of the degree of deacetylation of chitosan

The degree of deacetylation (DDA) of chitosan determines the biopolymer's physico-chemical properties and technological applications. pH-Potentiometric titration seems to offer a simple and convenient means of determining DDA. However, to obtain accurate pH-potentiometric DDA values, several factors have to be taken into consideration. We found that the moisture content of the air-dry chitosan samples can be as high as 15%, and a reasonable fraction of this humidity cannot be removed by ordinary drying. Corrections have to be made for the ash content, as in some samples it can be as high as 1% by weight. The method of equivalence point determination was also found to cause systematic variations in the results and in some samples extra acid as high as 1 mol% of the free amino content was also identified. To compensate for the latter effect, the second equivalence point of the titration has to be determined separately and the analytical concentration of the acid be corrected for it. All the corrections listed here are necessary to obtain DDA values that are in reasonable agreement with those obtained from (1)H NMR and IR spectroscopic measurements. The need for these corrections severely limits the usefulness of pH-metry for determining accurate DDA values and thus potentiometry is hardly able to compete with other standard spectroscopic procedures, that is, (1)H NMR spectroscopy.     

Mechanism of perception of changes in the magnetic field by ampullae of lorenzini of elasmobranchs

The mechanisms of reception of changes in the magnetic field by electroreceptor formations were investigated in experiments on Black Sea rays in which spike activity was recorded from single nerve fibers connected with the ampullae of Lorenzini. The responses of the ampullae of Lorenzini to magnetic stimulation were shown to be due to induced electric currents creating potential gradients in the body tissues of the fish and the sea water. On the basis of differences in responses of different ampullae to magnetic stimulation, it is possible to distinguish between magnetic stimuli and other stimuli acting on the electroreceptor system. Potentiation of the receptor response to magnetic stimulation was found as the fish came closer to the "shore." The mechanisms and biological importance of reception of changes in the magnetic field by the ampullae of Lorenzini are discussed.I. P. Pavlov Institute of Physiology, Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Leningrad. Translated from Neirofiziologiya, Vol. 10, No. 1, 75–83, January–February, 1978.     

Application of the function of the number of states of dynamic system to investigation of electroencephalographic reaction to photostimulation

A new way of EEG analysis is developed, which makes it possible to reveal a reaction of the brain cortex to external stimulation at a low response level. The method is based on the creation of an image of the EEG curve in the discrete phase space and comparison of a current condition with the conditions from a certain basic set. The strength of reaction to external stimulation is defined by the incidence of conditions novel with respect to the basic ones.     

Thermodynamics of the conformational transition of biopolyelectrolytes: the case of specific affinity of counterions.

A formal development of the Counterion Condensation theory (CC) of linear polyelectrolytes has been performed to include specific (chemical) affinity of condensed counterions, for polyelectrolyte charge density values larger than the critical value of condensation. It has been conventionally assumed that each condensed counterion exhibits an affinity free-energy difference for the polymer, (DeltaG(aff)). Moreover, the model assumes that the enthalpic and entropic contributions to DeltaG(aff), i.e., DeltaH(aff) and DeltaS(aff), are both independent of temperature, ionic strength and polymer concentration. Equations have been derived relative to the case of the thermally induced, ionic strength dependent, conformational transition of a biopolyelectrolyte between two conformations for which chemical affinity is supposed to take place. The experimental data of the intramolecular conformational transition of the ionic polysaccharide kappa-carrageenan in dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) have been successfully compared with the theoretical predictions. This novel approach provides the enthalpic and entropic affinity values for both conformations, together with the corresponding thermodynamic functions of nonpolyelectrolytic origin pertaining to the biopolymer backbone change per se, i.e., DeltaH(n.pol) and DeltaS(n.pol), according to a treatment previously shown to be successful for lower values of the biopolyelectrolyte linear charge density. The ratio of DeltaH(n.pol) to DeltaS(n.pol) was found to be remarkably constant independent of the value of the dielectric constant of the solvent, from formamide to water to DMSO, pointing to the identity of the underlying conformational process.